Optical switch and display unit

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an optical switch for making part of incident light, which has been made incident on an optical waveguide, selectively emergent to a light emergence portion provided outside the optical waveguide. The optical switch includes a liquid crystal device for selective emergence of the incident light. An arbitrary layer of the liquid crystal device is set such that letting Δn be a difference between a refractive index n o  of the optical waveguide and a refractive index n 1  of the arbitrary layer of the liquid crystal device, “d” be a thickness of the arbitrary layer, and λ be a wavelength of the incident light, the values of Δn, “d”, and λ satisfy a condition of 2.20×10 −3 ≦|Δn·d·λ −1 |≦3.03×10 −3 . With this optical switch, the uniformity of a light emergence efficiency can be easily realized by making use of a small change region in which the light emergence efficiency is not largely varied. The present invention also provides a display unit using the optical switches.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/839,186, filed May 5, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,138, which is adivisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/044,461 now U.S. Pat. No.6,754,408, filed Oct. 23, 2001, which claims priority to JapaneseApplication No. P2000-322273, filed Oct. 23, 2000, and P2001-020382filed Jan. 29, 2001, which applications are incorporated herein byreference to the extent permitted by law.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an optical switch for making light inan optical waveguide selectively emergent therefrom, and a display uniton which the optical switches are arrayed.

In home televisions, a cathode-ray tube having a mechanism of emittinglight by exciting phosphors with electron beams is used as a display. Inliquid crystal displays, a light transmittance is changed by varying apolarization characteristic of liquid crystal. In these liquid crystaldisplays, a color of white light is selected by using a filter. Inplasma displays, phosphors are excited with ultraviolet rays generatedby plasma.

By the way, television receivers have disadvantages that a depth of acathode-ray tube is long, thereby making it impossible to realize a thindisplay, and that the weight of the cathode-ray tube is heavy. A furtherdisadvantage of the television receivers is that since light emission isobtained by exciting phosphors, a half-width of an emission spectrum ofeach of three primary colors is large, to degrade a color purity and acolor reproducing characteristic. Liquid crystal displays have adisadvantage that since a half-width of an emission spectrum determinedby a color filter is also large, to degrade a color purity and a colorreproducing characteristic. Plasma displays have disadvantages thatsince light emission is obtained by exciting phosphors like cathode-raytubes, a half-width of each emission spectrum is large, to degrade acolor purity and a color reproducing characteristic, and that it is noteasy to adjust gradation of an image.

On the other hand, as display units utilizing photonics, there are knowndisplay units using optical waveguides. Such a display unit, however,has a problem that a contrast ratio of light emergent in response toturn-on/turn-off of an optical switching device, that is, an opticalswitch such as liquid crystal is low. Further, an optical switch havinga structure in which light transmissive layers are stacked has anotherproblem that a slight change in light emergence efficiency depending ona thickness and a refractive index of each layer of the stackedstructure may exert a large effect on an uniformity of the entire lightemergence efficiency, and therefore, it is expected to provide anoptical switch capable of easily realizing the uniformity of a lightemergence efficiency.

An optical switch composed of an optical waveguide including at least acladding layer, and a light directivity coupler having an electrodefilm, an alignment control film, and ferroelectric liquid crystal filledbetween a pair of substrates is known, for example, from Japanese PatentLaid-open No. Hei 8-36196. The design of this optical switch aims that acoupling efficiency (light emergence efficiency) becomes 1, that is, atransfer rate of light becomes 100% by optimizing a refractive index ofliquid crystal, and with respect to such design of the optical switch,the above document describes that the coupling efficiency can reach 98%by setting an effective refractive index of liquid crystal to 1.523.

An optical switch designed to pursue a high coupling efficiency as theoptical switch described in the above document, however, has a problem.Namely, a refractive index of each component such as ferroelectricliquid crystal, an optical waveguide, an electrode film, or an alignmentcontrol film may be deviated from a design value due to variations whichoccur depending on a thickness and a material characteristic of eachlayer in production steps, and if the refractive index of a component isdeviated from a design value, then such a deviation cannot be canceledonly by adjusting a refractive index of ferroelectric liquid crystal,and the coupling efficiency is largely degraded as the deviation in therefractive index of the component from the design value becomes large,thereby failing to obtain the uniformity of a light emergenceefficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical switchcapable of significantly improving a contrast ratio, obtaining a clear,bright image, and easily realizing the uniformity of a light emergenceefficiency, and to provide a display unit using the optical switches.

To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided an optical switch for making part ofincident light, which contains a specific polarized light component andhas been made incident on an optical waveguide, selectively emergentfrom the optical waveguide to a light emergence portion provided outsidethe optical waveguide, the optical switch including: a multi-layerstructure composed of a plurality of light transmissive layer; whereinletting a be a refractive index control accuracy at the time ofproducing the multi-layer structure, a refractive index of at least onelight transmissive layer in the multi-layer structure is different froma refractive index of a light transmissive layer other than the at leastone light transmissive layer in the multi-layer structure by 3 σ ormore.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is providedan optical switch for making part of incident light, which contains aspecific polarized light component and has been made incident on anoptical waveguide, selectively emergent from the optical waveguide to alight emergence portion provided outside the optical waveguide, theoptical switch including: a light transmissive stacked structureincluding a function layer for selective emergence of the incidentlight; wherein letting Δn be a difference between a refractive indexn_(o) of the optical waveguide and a refractive index n₁ of an arbitrarylayer forming part of the stacked structure, “d” be a thickness of thearbitrary layer, and λ be a wavelength of the incident light, the valuesof Δn, “d”, and λ satisfy a condition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a display unit including: a plurality of optical waveguides,disposed approximately in parallel to each other, for receiving lightcontaining a specific polarized light component as incident light; oneor two or more light emergence portions crossing the optical waveguides;and optical switches, disposed between the waveguides and the lightemergence portions, for making part of the incident light selectivelyemergent from the optical waveguides to the light emergence portionsprovided outside the optical waveguides; wherein each of the opticalswitches has a light transmissive stacked structure including a functionlayer for selective emergence of the incident light; and letting Δn be adifference between a refractive index n_(o) of the optical waveguide anda refractive index n₁ of an arbitrary layer forming part of the stackedstructure, “d” be a thickness of the arbitrary layer, and λ be awavelength of the incident light, the values of Δn, “d”, and λ satisfy acondition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³.

With these configurations of the second aspect of the present invention,in which a value of Δn·d·λ⁻¹ is specified, even if a refractive index ofeach layer of the light transmissive stacked structure of the opticalswitch is fluctuated, the light emergence efficiency is not varied somuch. To be more specific, as a result of calculation, it is revealedthat a small change region, in which the light emergence efficiency isnot largely changed even if the refractive index n₁ of an arbitrarylayer is fluctuated and is somewhat deviated from a design value, ispresent in the vicinity of a refractive index portion at which the lightemergence efficiency is maximized. By making effective use of such asmall change region, it is possible to suppress a variation in lightemergence efficiency even if the refractive index of an arbitrary layeris varied. The small change region in which the light emergenceefficiency is not largely changed appears under a condition that adeviation in phase of light passing through an arbitrary layer(refractive index: n1, and thickness: “d”) is within a specific range. Avalue of Δn·d·λ⁻¹ expresses the deviation in phase of transmissionlight, and the above condition for suppressing the light emergenceefficiency by making use of the small change region is given by anexpression of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³. The uniformity of thelight emergence efficiency can be realized by setting the arbitrarylayer under the above condition.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is providedan optical switch for making part of incident light, which contains aspecific polarized light component and has been made incident on anoptical waveguide, selectively emergent from the optical waveguide to alight emergence portion provided outside the optical waveguide, theoptical switch including: a light transmissive stacked structureincluding a function layer for selective emergence of the incidentlight; wherein letting L μm be a length of the function layer in thelongitudinal direction of the optical waveguide, a thickness of theoptical waveguide is in a range of 0.05·L μm to 0.2 L μm.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a display unit including: a plurality of optical waveguides,disposed approximately in parallel to each other, for receiving lightcontaining a specific polarized light component as incident light; oneor two or more light emergence portions crossing the optical waveguides;and optical switches, disposed between the waveguides and the lightemergence portions, for making part of the incident light selectivelyemergent from the optical waveguides to the light emergence portionsprovided outside the optical waveguides; wherein each of the opticalswitches has a light transmissive stacked structure including a functionlayer for selective emergence of the incident light; and letting L μm bea length of the function layer in the longitudinal direction of theoptical waveguide, a thickness of the optical waveguide is in a range of0.05 L μm to 0.2·Lμm.

With these configurations of the third aspect of the present invention,in which a thickness of an optical waveguide is specified, a lightintensity at one optical switch or at one pixel can be set to a highvalue. To be more specific, if the thickness of the optical waveguide isexcessively thin as compared with a size of a function layer forselective emergence of the incident light in the optical switch, a modenumber of a spectrum of light allowed to enter the optical waveguide isreduced, so that it is difficult to obtain a sufficient light intensity.On the other hand, if the thickness of the optical waveguide isexcessively thick as compared with the size of the function layer, theprobability that a light ray of one mode enters the function layer ofone optical switch is reduced, so that it is impossible to obtain asufficient light intensity even by performing selective emergence oflight. Accordingly, to optimize the light intensity, it may be desirableto specify a range of the thickness of the optical waveguide. To be morespecific, letting L μm be a length of the function layer in thelongitudinal direction of the optical waveguide, the thickness of theoptical waveguide may be set in a range of 0.05·Lμm to 0.2·Lμm in orderto optimize the light intensity.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is providedan optical switch for making part of incident light, which contains aspecific polarized light component and has been made incident on anoptical waveguide, selectively emergent from the optical waveguide to alight emergence portion provided outside the optical waveguide, theoptical switch including: a light transmissive stacked structureincluding a function layer for selective emergence of the incidentlight; wherein letting Δn be a difference between a refractive indexn_(o) of the optical waveguide and a refractive index n₁ of an arbitrarylayer forming part of the stacked structure, “d” be a thickness of thearbitrary layer, and λ be a wavelength of the incident light, the valuesof Δn, “d”, and λ satisfy a condition of |Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³ and|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≠0.

With this configuration of the fourth aspect of the present invention,since the range of a deviation in phase of transmission light, which isexpressed by Δn·d·λ⁻¹, is extended, the production of an optical switchbecomes easier than the production of the optical switch under theabove-described condition specified according to the second aspect ofthe present invention. In addition, since a value of Δn may becomenegative, the deviation in phase of transmission light is expressed byan absolute value of Δn·d·λ⁻¹.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure of an opticalswitch according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure of a displayunit using the optical switches according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a typical sectional view showing a cross-sectional structureof the optical switch according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a supplementary angleand a reflectance in the optical switch according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between a refractive index of atransparent electrode and a light emergence efficiency in the opticalswitch according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a refractive index ofliquid crystal and a light emergence efficiency in the optical switchaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a typical view illustrating a phase difference of an opticalswitch structure;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic sectional views each showing an opticalwaveguide and an optical switch structure according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relationship between a light intensity and asupplementary angle in an optical waveguide according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing a relationship between a supplementary angleand a mode number in the case where laser light is made incident on anoptical waveguide according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a relationship between a mode number and athickness of an optical waveguide in the case where laser light is madeincident on the optical waveguide according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a relationship between a light intensity anda thickness of an optical waveguide in the case where laser light ismade incident on the optical waveguide according to the secondembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a graph showing a relationship between a system efficiencyand a thickness of an optical waveguide in the case where laser light ismade incident on the optical waveguide according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An optical switch and a display unit using the optical switchesaccording to the present invention will be hereinafter described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferredembodiments are shown.

According to a first embodiment, there is provided an optical switch formaking part of incident light, which contains a specific polarized lightcomponent and has been made incident on an optical waveguide,selectively emergent from the optical waveguide to a light emergenceportion provided outside the optical waveguide. The optical switchincludes a multi-layer structure composed of a plurality of lighttransmissive layer. In this optical switch, letting a be a refractiveindex control accuracy at the time of producing the multi-layerstructure, a refractive index of at least one light transmissive layerin the multi-layer structure is different from a refractive index of alight transmissive layer, other than said at least one lighttransmissive layer in the multi-layer structure, by 3π or more.

According to the first embodiment, there is also provided an opticalswitch for making part of incident light, which contains a specificpolarized light component and has been made incident on an opticalwaveguide, selectively emergent from the optical waveguide to a lightemergence portion provided outside the optical waveguide. The opticalswitch includes a light transmissive stacked structure including afunction layer for selective emergence of the incident light. In thisoptical switch, letting Δn be a difference between a refractive indexn_(o) of the optical waveguide and a refractive index n₁ of an arbitrarylayer forming part of the stacked structure, “d” be a thickness of thearbitrary layer, and λ be a wavelength of the incident light, the valuesof Δn, “d”, and λ satisfy a condition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹≦|3.03×10⁻³.

The optical switch in this embodiment is provided with an opticalwaveguide, and if a display unit is composed of a plurality of theoptical switches, then a plurality of optical waveguides, each of whichis formed into a flat plate shape, are arrayed.

FIG. 1 is a typical perspective view showing a structure of an opticalswitch. An optical waveguide 1 is formed of a plate-like member madefrom a polycarbonate based resin. Light emitted from a light source 6such as a semiconductor laser is made incident on an end face 12 of theoptical waveguide 1. The optical waveguide 1 crosses a light emergenceportion 2 formed into a flat-plate shape like the optical waveguide 1.At a portion where the optical waveguide 1 crosses the light emergenceportion 2, a liquid crystal device 3 is held between the opticalwaveguide 1 and the light emergence portion 2.

The light source 6 used for the optical switch 10 is not limited to theabove-described semiconductor laser but may be an LED (Light EmittingDiode) light source or an EL (Electroluminescence) light source. In thecase of using light containing a specific polarized light component, asheet polarizer may be used. The above-described light source isadvantageous in that a half-width of an emission spectrum is relativelysmall and thereby a color purity is excellent. Accordingly, the use ofsuch a light source is effective to produce a desirable three primarycolor display unit.

The optical waveguide 1 may be made from a light transmissive materialhaving desired rigidity, flexibility, and heat resistance, for example,a polycarbonate based resin. The material for the optical waveguide 1,however, is not limited thereto but may be any other transparentsynthetic resin or quartz glass. In this embodiment, the opticalwaveguide 1 is formed into an elongated flat plate shape. The shape ofthe optical waveguide 1, however, is not limited thereto but may be around bar shape or a square bar shape. The optical waveguide 1 may beconfigured as optical fibers.

The liquid crystal device 3 formed between the optical waveguide 1 andthe light emergence portion 2 has a function layer for selectiveemergence of incident light. An operational mode of the function layercan be selectively changed into either a total reflection mode forallowing total reflection of incident light in the optical waveguide 1or an emission mode for allowing emission of incident light via theliquid crystal device 3. The selective control of the liquid crystaldevice 3 is performed by changing a voltage 5 applied to the liquidcrystal device 3. In the emission mode, the waveguided light emergesupward from an upper surface of the liquid crystal device 3. To increasean light emergence efficiency from the liquid crystal device 3, agrating 7 is mounted on the upper surface of the light emergence portion2. The liquid crystal device 3 has a light transmissive stackedstructure (which will be described later), and is operated for selectiveemergence of incident light. It is to be noted that the device having afunction layer, used for the optical switch in this embodiment, is notlimited to the liquid crystal device 3 but may be one kind or acombination of two or more kinds selected from a group consisting oflayers capable of, depending on a change in electric field or light,modulating a refractive index, a refractive index distribution, anemission intensity, a color density, a dielectric constant, and apermeability, and layers capable of, depending on a change in electricfield or light, changing a liquid crystal alignment state, andscattering light. Such a device having a function layer allows selectiveemergence or cutoff of light. In particular, in the case of using theliquid crystal device 3 as the device having a function layer of theoptical switch as in this embodiment, the liquid crystal device 3 may bedesirable to have ferroelectric liquid crystal.

FIG. 2 shows a flat type display unit 20 including optical switchesarrayed within a flat plane. A plurality of optical waveguides 11typically made from polycarbonate resin extend in the horizontaldirection within a flat plane in such a manner as to be spaced from eachother at specific intervals, and a plurality of flat plate shaped narrowlight emergence portions 12 extend in such a manner as to cross theoptical waveguides at right angles. Liquid crystal devices 13 aredisposed at portions where the plurality of optical waveguides 11 crossthe plurality of light emergence portions 12. The liquid crystal device13 has a function layer for selective emergence of incident light. Anoperational mode of the liquid crystal device 13 can be selectivelychanged into either a total reflection mode for allowing totalreflection of incident light in the optical waveguide 11 or an emissionmode for allowing emission of incident light via the liquid crystaldevice 13 by changing a voltage 15 applied to the liquid crystal device13.

An approximately flat plate shaped base 19 is mounted on a base end sideof each optical waveguide 11, and each of semiconductor lasers 16, 17and 18 corresponding to respective emission colors is mounted on anupper surface of the base 19 in such a manner that the emission side ofthe semiconductor laser is directed toward an end face of thecorresponding optical waveguide 11. A lens 14 is provided between eachof the semiconductor lasers 16, 17 and 18 and the end face of thecorresponding optical waveguide 11. Laser light emitted from each of thesemiconductor lasers 16, 17 and 18 is made incident on the end face ofthe corresponding optical waveguide 11 via the lens 14. Thesemiconductor lasers 16, 17 and 18 corresponding to respective emissioncolors are typically configured as lasers capable of emitting laserlight of red, green and blue in this order, and the optical waveguides11 corresponding to the semiconductor lasers 16, 17 and 18 waveguide theincident laser light of red, green and blue, respectively. For example,by arraying 4,800 pieces of the optical waveguides in the horizontaldirection on a display screen and arraying 1,200 pieces of lightemergence portions in the vertical direction on the display screen, afull color display unit having 1,920,000 pixels can be realized.

As a preferred example of the semiconductor laser or light emittingdiode used for the present invention, an AlGaInP based group III-Vsemiconductor light emitting device is used as a red light source, aZnSe based group II-VI semiconductor light emitting device or a GaNbased group III-V semiconductor light emitting device is used as a greenlight source, and a ZnSe based group II-VI semiconductor light emittingdevice or a GaN based group III-V semiconductor light emitting device isused as a blue light source. Further, as a preferred example of anelectroluminescence light emitting device used for the presentinvention, a ZnS based light emitting device is used as each of a redlight source, a green light source, and a blue light source.

The use of a soft material such as a plastic material as a display unitforming material can realize display units of the optical waveguide typewhich have various sizes from a large size to a compact size, forexample, a curved display having a punchy screen spread at a wide angleof typically 120°, a semi-spherical display, a full-spherical display, acocoon type display, and a display allowed to be hoisted not at the timeof use.

An essential structure of a liquid crystal type optical switch accordingto this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3. As shownin FIG. 3, the essential structure of the liquid crystal type opticalswitch includes a stacked structure in which a liquid crystal device isheld between an optical waveguide 31 and a light emergence portion 32.To be more specific, alignment films 34 and 36 are formed betweentransparent electrode layers 33 and 37, and a liquid crystal layer 35 isformed between the alignment films 34 and 36. Each of the opticalwaveguide 31 and the light emergence portion 32 is, as described above,typically made from a light transmissive polycarbonate based resin, andin this case, a refractive index n₀ thereof is set to 1.585. Each of thetransparent electrode layers 33 and 37 is made from typically an ITOfilm, and in this case, a refractive index thereof is set to the samevalue as that of the optical waveguide 31, that is, 1.585. However, aswill be described later, according to the structure in this embodiment,even if the refractive index of each of the transparent electrode layers33 and 37 is somewhat deviated from a setting value, the light emergenceefficiency is not reduced. A thickness of each of the transparentelectrodes 33 and 37 is typically set to 0.50 μm. A mode of the liquidcrystal layer 35 is selected in response to a voltage applied betweenthe transparent electrode layers 33 and 37.

The alignment layers 34 and 36, each of which is typically made from apolyimide based resin, are formed on the transparent electrode layer 33and under the transparent electrode layer 37, respectively. A refractiveindex of each of the alignment films 34 and 36 is set to be larger thanthe refractive index n₀ of each of the optical waveguide 31 and thelight emergence portion 32 by a value of about 0.05 to 0.15. In general,a refractive index of a glass material is controlled at an accuracy offive decimal places, and a refractive index of an organic material suchas a synthetic resin is controlled at an accuracy of four decimalplaces. Letting σ be a refractive index control accuracy at the time ofproducing the multi-layer structure, a value of 3 σ is in the order ofthree decimal places at maximum, and accordingly, a deviation of arefractive index in a range of about 0.05 to 0.15 largely exceeds thevalue of 3σ, that is, largely exceeds an error range at the time ofproducing the multi-layer structure. A thickness of each of thealignment films 34 and 36 is set to 0.142 μm.

The liquid crystal layer 35 is a function layer for selectivetransmission of incident light, and a reflectance of the liquid crystallayer 35 is largely changed in response to a voltage applied between thetransparent electrode layers 33 and 37. In this embodiment,ferroelectric liquid crystal is used for the liquid crystal layer 35,and in the ON state of the liquid crystal, light in the opticalwaveguide 31 reaches the light emergence layer 32, and in the OFF stateof the liquid crystal, light in the optical waveguide 31 is cutoff bythe liquid crystal layer 35 and thereby the light does not reach thelight emergence layer 32. FIG. 4 shows a reflectance R of the liquidcrystal layer. In a range of a supplementary angle θ (to a reflectionangle) of 20° or less, in the OFF state of liquid crystal, thereflectance R of the liquid crystal layer becomes a value closer to anapproximately 1, and in the ON state of liquid crystal, the reflectanceR of the liquid crystal layer becomes 0.2 or less, that is,substantially zero.

The feature of the optical switch in this embodiment lies in that evenif a refractive index and a thickness of an arbitrary layer aredeviated, a light emergence efficiency can be uniformly retained. Thisfeature will be described below. Since the optical switch in thisembodiment has the structure in which respective light transmissivelayers are stacked, refractive indexes of these layers exert effects ona light emergence efficiency of the entire optical switch. The conditionunder which the efficiency is maximized, that is, the light emergenceefficiency η is set to 1 can be established by making a refractive indexof each of the layers identical to the refractive index n₀ of theoptical waveguide. Such a condition is effective to design an opticalswitch capable of maximizing the light emergence efficiency. Theadoption of such a maximum efficiency condition, however, causes aproblem. Namely, under a condition closer to the maximum efficiencycondition that the light emergence efficiency η becomes 1, even if arefractive index of a layer is slightly deviated from a design value,the light emergence efficiency η is largely deviated from 1. As aresult, for a display unit on which optical switches are arrayed withina flat plane, variations between the optical switches becomesignificantly large. To cope with such a problem, according to thisembodiment, in place of adopting a maximum efficiency portion for astacked structure of an optical switch, a small change region closer tothe maximum efficiency portion, in which the light emergence efficiencyη is not largely changed even if a refractive index of a layer isdeviated, is positively utilized for a stacked structure of an opticalswitch.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a change in light emergence efficiency ηdepending on a deviation in refractive index of a transparent electrode.As is apparent from this graph, each of four curves has theabove-described small change region. In addition, data shown in thegraph are obtained for the same structure as that shown in FIG. 3, inwhich a transparent electrode layer having a refractive index “n” and analignment film having a refractive index PI are formed on an opticalwaveguide having a refractive index n₀. More specifically, the fourcurves show the data for the four structures in which the refractiveindexes PI of the alignment film are 1.593, 1.594, 1.595, and 1.596,respectively. In the graph, the ordinate designates the light emergenceefficiency η and the abscissa designates the refractive index “n” of thetransparent electrode layer. In each of the four curves shown in FIG. 5,the small change region, in which even if the refractive index “n” isvaried, the light emergence efficiency η is not largely changed, ispresent in a range which is larger than the refractive indexcorresponding to the maximum efficiency by about 0.002. An opticalswitch using such a small change region makes it possible to suppress avariation in light emergence efficiency n even if the refractive index“n” is varied, and a display unit capable of keeping the uniformity ofthe light emergence efficiency η can be obtained by using such opticalswitches.

Like the example shown by the graph in FIG. 5 in which the refractiveindex of the transparent electrode is deviated, a small change region ispresent in which even if a refractive index of a liquid crystal layer isdeviated, the light emergence efficiency η is not largely changed. FIG.6 shows a change in light emergence efficiency η depending on avariation in refractive index of the liquid crystal layer. As shown inFIG. 6, in a range of a refractive index of an alignment film from 1.565to 1.610, a small change region SD, in which the light emergenceefficiency η is not largely changed, is present on the side slightlysmaller than the refractive index corresponding to the maximumefficiency. An optical switch using such a small change region makes itpossible to suppress a variation in light emergence efficiency η even ifthe refractive index of the liquid crystal layer is varied, and adisplay unit capable of keeping the uniformity of the light emergenceefficiency η can be obtained by using such optical switches.

The condition under which such a small change region appears will bemore fully described below. In general, the light emergence efficiency ηis not determined only by a deviation from the perfect structurecomposed of all layers whose refractive indexes are perfectly identicalto each other, but is determined by the deviation in refractive index ofa layer multiplied by a thickness of the layer. To be more specific, avalue obtained by dividing a product of a deviation in refractive indexΔn (=n₀−n₁) and a thickness “d” by a wavelength λ becomes a deviation inphase α, and the deviation in phase α determines the reflectance and thelight emergence efficiency η. This is typically shown in FIG. 7.Referring to this figure, light passes through two media 41 and 42. Inthis case, assuming that an intermediate portion 43 of the medium 41 hasa thickness “d” and a refractive index n₁ and an intermediate portion 44of the medium 42 has a thickness “d” and a refractive index n₀, a phasedifference caused by transmission of light through the media 41 and 42having different refractive indexes is expressed by d·Δn·λ⁻¹. Such aphase difference d·Δn·λ⁻¹ becomes a factor determining the lightemergence efficiency η.

On the other hand, as a result of a plurality of simulation testscarried by the present inventors, it is revealed that dΔn=1.278×10⁻³ μmbecomes a condition under which the above-described small change regionappears. Hereinafter, a condition under which the above-described smallchange region appears will be more fully described by using the datashown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows the result which is calculated with thewavelength λ fixed at 0.515 μm, the thickness “d” of the alignment filmfixed at 0.142 μm, and the refractive index n0 of the optical waveguidefixed at 1.585, and the refractive index nPI of the alignment filmvaried in a range of 1.593 to 1.596. Accordingly, in the case of therefractive index nPI=1.593, Δn (=nPI−n0) becomes 0.008, with a resultthat d·Δn·λ⁻¹ becomes 2.20×10⁻³, and in the case of the refractive indexnPI=1.596, Δn (=nPI−n0) becomes 0.011, with a result that d·Δn·λ⁻¹becomes 3.03×10⁻³. Consequently, a condition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ³¹¹|≦3.03×10⁻³ is obtained. In other words, by setting the refractiveindex “n” and the thickness “d” of the transparent electrode layer, andfurther the wavelength λ of transmission light under the condition of2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³, the above small change region appears.As a result, it is possible to obtain the light emergence efficiency ηnot largely changed even if the refractive index “n” of the transparentelectrode layer is varied. Concretely, as shown by the data in FIG. 5,by satisfying the condition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³, the lightemergence efficiency η is little changed even if the refractive index ofthe transparent electrode is deviated from 1.585 by a value of about±0.0015. In addition, since the value of Δn may becomes negative, thedeviation in phase of transmission light is expressed by the absolutevalue of Δn·d·λ⁻¹.

In the above example, the condition of the transparent electrode layer,under which the small change region can be obtained, is calculated withthe refractive index of the alignment film taken as a parameter. Thesame consideration can be applied to the liquid crystal layer. That isto say, by setting the liquid crystal layer under the condition of2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³, a small change region appears. As aresult, it is possible to obtain the light emergence efficiency η notlargely changed even if the refractive index of the liquid crystal layeris varied. For example, it is revealed that by setting, at thewavelength of 0.515 μm, the refractive index of the alignment film to behigher than the refractive index of the optical waveguide by about 0.01,a small change region in which the light emergence efficiency η is notlargely changed appears. In this case, even if the refractive index ofthe liquid crystal layer is changed from 1.582 to 1.585, a variation inlight emergence efficiency η can be suppressed to a value of 2% or less.

The transparent electrode is not limited to the above-described ITO filmbut may be a fine particle dispersion type transparent electrode film.The fine particle dispersion type transparent electrode film is aconductive film obtained by mixing a high refractive index material suchas SnO₂ fine particles with a low refractive index material such as apolyester based resin. To control a refractive index of the conductivefilm, it is required to mix the SnO₂ fine particles with the polyesterbased resin at a specific mixing ratio. For example, a refractive indexn1 of the SnO₂ fine particles is 2.0, and a refractive index n2 of thepolyester based resin is 1.45. In this case, a refractive index n3 ofthe mixture of the two kinds of materials is determined by a volumeratio “k” of the materials. Here, letting V1 be the total volume of thefine particles and V2 be the total volume of the polyester based resin,the volume ratio “k” becomes k=V1/(V1+V2). The refractive index n3 ofthe mixture thus becomes n3=k×n1+(1−k)×n2. As a result, for example, toset the refractive index n3 to 1.585, “k” must be set to 0.2455. In thiscase, if the volume V1 of the fine particles is set to 10 mL, the volumeV2 of the polyester based resin becomes 30.73 mL.

In this way, a designed refractive index of the mixture is obtained bymixing the fine particles with the resin at a specific volume ratio.This method can be applied to a combination of other materials. Since arefractive index of a mixture is determined by a volume ratio, even ifthe mixture is composed of not two kinds but three or more kinds ofmaterials, a desired refractive index of the mixture can be obtained inaccordance with the same manner. According to this embodiment, even if arefractive index of a transparent electrode film is somewhat varied, avariation in light emergence efficiency η can be suppressed, andconsequently, the fine particle dispersion type transparent electrodefilm produced by mixing a high refractive index material with a lowrefractive index material at a specific volume ratio is significantlyeffective.

The refractive index n₀ of the optical waveguide 31 shown in FIG. 3 isnot limited to 1.585 but may be more generalized. For example, therefractive index n_(o) may be set to a value in a range of 1.57 to 1.60.On the optical waveguide 31 having the refractive index n_(o) rangingfrom 1.57 to 1.60, at least one layer or two layers each having arefractive index ranging from 1.594 to 1.595 and a thickness rangingfrom 0.13 μm to 0.16 μm may be formed as the alignment film 34 and 36 orthe transparent electrode layers 33 and 37. Further, the above-describedcondition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³ may be replaced with acondition of |Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³ and |Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≠0. Under the conditionof |Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³ and |Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≠0, since a deviation in phase oftransmission light expressed by Δn·d·λ⁻¹ is extended, the production ofan optical switch becomes easier than the production of the opticalswitch under the condition of 2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³. Inaddition, since a value of Δn may become negative, the deviation inphase of transmission light is expressed by an absolute value ofΔn·d·λ⁻¹.

According to the optical switch and the display unit using the opticalswitches in this embodiment, even if a refractive index of an arbitrarylayer of a stacked structure constituting the optical switch is varied,a uniform light emergence efficiency η can be obtained by setting thearbitrary layer such that the arbitrary layer satisfies a specificcondition. The specific condition is established by setting the phasedifference Δn·d·λ⁻¹ of transmission light in a specific range. Inparticular, since the condition is dependent on λ⁻¹, that is, theinverse of the wavelength of transmission light, the structure of theoptical switch is also dependent on the wavelength of transmissionlight. Accordingly, in the case of producing a display unit using theoptical switches in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the wavelengthof light used is determined for each optical waveguide, and the opticalswitches corresponding to the light emitting devices for emission ofred, green and blue are disposed so as to correspond to the opticalwaveguides. In other words, in a full color display unit, opticalwaveguides for waveguiding light of different colors are arrayed, andeach of the optical switches, which is different from that adjacentthereto in terms of at least one of a thickness and a refractive indexof a layer forming the optical switch, is provided so as to correspondto a wavelength of light emitted from each light emitting device. Forexample, in an optical switch for receiving light of red, since thewavelength of the light of red is longer than that of light of blue, athickness of a layer forming the optical switch may be made thicker thana layer forming an optical switch for receiving light of blue. With thisconfiguration, it is possible to extend the uniformity over the screen.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 8A and 8B, 9, 10, 11 and 12. In this embodiment, itis intended to optimize a size of an optical switch as well as a size ofan optical waveguide. FIGS. 8A and 8B shows a state in which lighthaving been made incident on an optical waveguide emerges from oneoptical switch.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, an end face of a semiconductor laser 51,which functions as a semiconductor light emitting device, is inclose-contact with an end face of an optical waveguide 52, and laserlight (TE mode) emitted from the semiconductor laser 51 is made incidenton the optical waveguide 52. A plurality of liquid crystal switches 53a, 53 b, 53 c and 53 d, which function as optical switches, are arrayedon the optical waveguide 52. Each of the liquid crystal switches 53 a to53 d is independently switched between an ON state and an OFF state inresponse to a voltage applied from a drive circuit (not shown) thereto.In the examples shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, only the liquid crystal switch53 c is in the ON state and the other liquid crystal switches 53 a, 53 band 53 d are in the OFF states. Each of the liquid crystal switches 53 ato 53 d transmits light in the ON state and cuts off light in the OFFstate.

FIG. 8A typically shows the case where a quantity of light allowed toemerge from the liquid crystal switch 53 c in the ON state is small.Reversely, FIG. 8B typically shows the case where a quantity of lightallowed to emerge from the liquid crystal switch 53 c in the ON state islarge. To produce a high-intensity display unit, liquid crystal switchesused for the display unit may be configured so as to increase a quantityof light allowed to emerge from those, in the ON state, of the liquidcrystal switches as shown in FIG. 8B.

With respect to laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 51, asshown in FIG. 9, a light intensity (I) in the optical waveguide on theordinate is dependent on an incident supplementary angle θ and exhibitsa Gauss distribution with a relatively narrow half-width. In the lightintensity distribution shown in FIG. 9, a mode number is sequentiallyincreased in the order of a first order mode, a second order mode, athird order mode . . . from a small angle θ portion depending on theangle θ. That is to say, the mode number becomes larger as the angle θbecomes larger. FIG. 10 shows data in an optical waveguide system,wherein the ordinate designate an incident supplementary angle θ and theabscissa designates a mode number. As is shown in the figure, as athickness of an optical waveguide becomes thick, the mode number becomeslarge along with an increase in angle θ.

FIG. 11 shows a relationship between a thickness “d” of an opticalwaveguide and a mode number. The mode number of laser light traveling inthe optical waveguide is increased linearly with the thickness “d” ofthe optical waveguide. For example, when the thickness “d” of theoptical waveguide exceeds 50 μm, the mode number exceeds 100, and inthis case, a sufficient light intensity can be obtained. However, whenthe thickness “d” of the optical waveguide exceeds 200 μm, although themode number is further increased, the light intensity is littleincreased. That is to say, in this case, the increase in mode numberdoes not contribute to an increase in light intensity. FIG. 12 shows acalculation result of a light intensity of laser light of the TE mode,which has been made incident on an optical waveguide and is made toemerge from the optical waveguide via one optical switch having a lengthof 1 mm in the longitudinal direction of the optical waveguide,depending on a variable thickness “d” of the optical waveguide. Thevariable thickness “d” is selected from 10, 50, 100, 200, 300, and 600μm. As shown in FIG. 12, when the thickness “d” of the optical waveguideexceeds 200 μm, the light intensity is little increased. This means thatwhen the thickness “d” of the optical waveguide exceeds 200 μm, even ifthe mode number is increased, the probability that light is madeincident on the optical switch with its one mode taken in an ON state isreduced. FIG. 13 shows the calculation result shown in FIG. 12 as anefficiency in a system. In this figure, the ordinate designates anefficiency in the system, and the abscissa designates a thickness “d” ofan optical waveguide. A curve showing a dependence of the thickness ofthe optical waveguide on the efficiency is inclined rightward, downward.This means that the efficiency becomes low as the thickness “d” of theoptical waveguide becomes large, and more specifically, the probabilitythat light of each mode is made incident on one optical switch isreduced as the thickness “d” of the optical waveguide becomes large.

Based on the above-described relationship, an optimum thickness of anoptical waveguide for increasing the light intensity can be determined.Assuming that a length of a function layer functioning as a switchingportion in the longitudinal direction of an optical waveguide of anoptical switch is set to 1 mm, the optimum thickness of the opticalwaveguide becomes a value in a range of 50 to 200 μm. Namely, if thethickness of the optical waveguide is excessively small, since the modenumber is decreased, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient lightintensity. Reversely, if the thickness of the optical waveguide isexcessively large, since the probability that laser light is madeincident on one liquid crystal switch as an optical switch is reduced,the light intensity is also lowered.

A thickness of an optical waveguide can be generalized with respect to asize of an optical switch. For example, letting L μm be a length of afunction layer of an optical switch in the longitudinal direction of theoptical waveguide, the thickness of the optical waveguide suitable forrealizing a high light emergence efficiency can be set in a range of0.05·L μm to 0.2·L μm. If the length L μm of the function layer is setto 1,000±300 μm, the excellent light emergence efficiency, whichcorresponds to the above-described calculation result, can be obtained.

The function layer of the optical switch in this embodiment is one kindor a combination of two or more kinds selected from a group consistingof layers capable of, depending on a change in electric field or light,modulating a refractive index, a refractive index distribution, anemission intensity, a color density, a dielectric constant, and apermeability, and layers capable of, depending on a change in electricfield or light, changing a liquid crystal alignment state, andscattering light. Such a device having a function layer allows selectiveemergence or cutoff of light. In particular, in the case of using theliquid crystal device 3 as the device having a function layer of theoptical switch as in this embodiment, the liquid crystal device 3 may bedesirable to have ferroelectric liquid crystal. The length of thefunction layer is an effective size for emergence and cutoff of lightfrom the optical waveguide, and if a frame or the like is formed at anend portion of the function layer, a size of a portion of the functionlayer inside the frame becomes the length L used for determining theoptimum thickness of the optical waveguide.

One of application examples of the present invention is a display unitusing the above-described optical waveguides. If refractive indexes ofrespective optical switch are non-uniform, a light emergence efficiencyis varied, with a result that there occurs an uneven luminance.According to the present invention, however, even if there may occursuch a non-uniformity between the refractive indexes of adjacent two ofthe optical switches, since the light emergence efficiency is keptconstant, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of an unevenluminance.

As another application example, an optical switch of the presentinvention can be used for an optical communication field. In acomplicated optical switch accompanied by parallel processing, even whena single signal is inputted, a multiple signals may be often outputted.For example, in the case where a plurality of optical switches areprovided on one optical waveguide, if an efficiency of one opticalswitch is different from that of another optical switch, a signalintensity may be varied, tending to cause an error. According to thepresent invention, such a problem can be solved. The present inventionis applicable not only to display units and optical communication unitsbut also to centralized light emitting computing devices,two-dimensional computers, or other units on which a plurality ofoptical switches are arrayed.

As described above, according to the optical switch and the display unitusing the optical switches in accordance with the present invention,since a small change region, in which a light emergence efficiency isnot largely changed even if a thickness and a refractive index of a filmare varied, is utilized, it is possible to easily realize uniformity ofthe light emergence efficiency, and since a thickness of an opticalwaveguide is optimized with respect to a size of an optical switch, itis possible to improve the light emergence efficiency and hence torealize a high-intensity output.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed using the specific terms, such description is for illustrativepurposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variationsmay be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the followingclaims.

1. A display unit comprising: an optical waveguide for receiving lightcontaining a specific polarized light component as incident light; alight emergence portions crossing said optical waveguide; and an opticalswitch, disposed between said waveguide and said light emergenceportion, for making at least a portion of said incident lightselectively emergent from said optical waveguide to said light emergenceportion; wherein said optical switch has a light transmissive stackedstructure including a function layer for selective emergence of saidincident light; and letting Δn be a difference between a refractiveindex n_(o) of said optical waveguide and a refractive index n_(l) of anarbitrary layer forming part of said stacked structure, “d” be athickness of said arbitrary layer, and λ be a wavelength of saidincident light, the values of Δn, “d”, and λ satisfy a condition of2.20×10⁻³≦|Δn·d·λ⁻¹|≦3.03×10⁻³; and the functional layer of said opticalswitch has a length, L, in the longitudinal direction of the opticalwaveguide and said optical waveguide has a thickness in a range of0.05·L μm to 0.2·L μm.
 2. A display unit according to claim 1, whereinthe length, L, of said function layer is 1,000±300 μm.